No cheers for Kishida at home this time either

Recently, Japan has made significant headway on cooperation with like-minded countries to counter Chinese hegemonic aspirations in the Western Pacific and to oppose Russo-North Korean strategic alignment.

First, on July 8, 2024, during the second Japan-Philippines Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting, both US allies signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement and also confirmed that the two countries would continue and strengthen cooperation in capacity building, including defense equipment and technical cooperation, as well as agreeing to Official Security Assistance.

Kishida, following in the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s footsteps, continues to deepen Japan’s relations with the Philippines.

Both Japan and the US see the Philippines as an important part of the First Island Chain and are actively boosting their bilateral and trilateral security cooperation to counter Chinese hegemonic aspirations in the Western Pacific.

Second, on the sidelines of the NATO Washington summit (July 9–11, 2024), Kishida repeated his mantra that the security of Europe and that of the Indo-Pacific are inseparable.

Together with the US and the other IP4 countries (Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea), he expressed concern over Russo-North Korean military cooperation, which violates a number of UN Security Council resolutions.

Kishida, in separate meetings with Yoon and Biden, pledged to strengthen their trilateral cooperation, aiming to secure peace in East Asia. Beside Russia and North Korea, China also received its share of criticism for fueling the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.

Both China and North Korea, as expected, blasted back in their usual manner at NATO. China Daily stated that the declaration’s language is provocative